Proximity antenna structure for a lavatory or plumbing fixture

ABSTRACT

A SENSING DEVICE, OFTEN CALLED AN &#34;ANTENNA,&#34; EMPLOYED WITH A CAPACITANCE-OPERATED PROXIMITY CONTROL CIRCUIT TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF A USER IN FRONT OF A LAVATORY OR ANY OTHER PLUMBING FIXTURE. THE ANTENNA DEVELOPS AN INCREASE IN CAPACITANCE UPON THE ARRIVAL OF THE USER AT THE FRONT OF THE LAVATORY. THE INCREASE OF CAPACITANCE ACTIVATES AN ELECTRONIC CONTROL CIRCUIT WHICH TURNS ON THE FAUCET OF THE LAVATORY AND KEEPS IT TURNED ON WHILE THE USER SWAYS HIS BODY IN WASHING HIS HANDS. WHEN THE USER DEPARTS FROM THE LAVATORY, THE   FAUCET WILL BE TURNED OFF UPON THE RESULTING DECREASE IN THE CAPACITANCE.

June 22, 1971 N. A. FORBES ET AL 3,585,653

PROXIMITY ANTENNA STRUCTURE FOR A LAVATORY OR PLUMBING FIXTURE FiledSept. 10, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 20 L V I I II 90 60 I] no '11 i I02INVENIORS NORMAN A. FORBES BY JAMES R. GRIFFIN o/gm (m6: :1: ATTORNEYJune 22, 1971 FORBES ET AL I 3,585,653

PROXIMI'IY ANTENNA STRUCTURE FOR A LAVATORY OR PLUMBING FIXTURTII FiledSept. 10, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIC-3.2 I20 lNvliN'l oRs, NORMAN A.FORBES BY JAMES R. GRIFFIN LLMV MITTQRNEY June 22 1971 N, E ET ALPROXIMITY ANTENNA STRUCTURE FOR A LAVATORY OR PLUMBING FIXTURE 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 10, 1969 INVISNIORS, NORMAN A. FORBES BYJAMES June 22, 1971 N. A. FORBES ET AL 3,585,653

PROXlMITY ANTENNA STRUCTURE FOR A LAVATORY OR PLUMBING FIXTURE 4Shets-Shout L Filed Sept. 10, 1969 l N VEN 'IORS NORMAN A. FORBES BYJAMES rllLllltllllllkll IFIIIIII R. GRIFFIN v ,M/ A/Lfrl ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent Otfice 3,585,653 Patented June 22,, 1971 3,585,653PROXIMITY ANTENNA STRUCTURE FOR A LAVATORY OR PLUMBING FIXTURE Norman A.Forbes and James Richard Griffin, Louisville, Ky., assignors to AmericanStandard Inc., New York,

. Filed Sept. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 856,731

Int. Cl. A471: 1/04 U.S. Cl. 4-166 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA sensing device, often called an antenna, employed with acapacitance-operated proximity control circuit to detect and respond tothe presence or absence of a user in front of a lavatory or any otherplumbing fixture. The antenna develops an increase in capacitance uponthe arrival of the user at the front of the lavatory. The increase ofcapacitance activates an electronic control circuit which turns on thefaucet of the lavatory and keeps it turned on while the user sways hisbody in washing his hands. When the user departs from the lavatory, thefaucet will be turned off upon the resulting decrease in thecapacitance.

This invention relates to sensing devices and apparatus suitable fordetecting the presence or absence of a person or an object at aparticular location, such as a plumbing fixture. More particularly, thisinvention relates to sensing devices, often called antennas," forsensing or detecting the presence of a user in front of a plumbingfixture, such as a lavatory, and, in response to the arrival of theuser, to operate the plumbing fixture by turning on the water if theplumbing fixture is a lavatory and maintaining a continuous flow ofwater even if the users body sways while washing his hands, and later,in response to the departure of the user, to de-activate the plumbingfixture.

Stated differently, this invention relates to antenna structures forfixtures, such as lavatories, in which the antennas will undergo desiredor predetermined electrical changes in response to the arrival of theuser to initiate the operation of the fixture and will continue tomaintain the desired or predetermined changes even when the user swaysor bends his body away from the fixture while washing his hands. Inresponse to the departure of the user, the structure will respond tocorresponding desired or predetermined changes to de-activate thefixture.

Stated in still another way, this invention relates to an antennastructure for a lavatory or other fixture which will undergo asubstantial positive change in capacitance or reactance upon theapproach of the user, and maintain substantially the same reactancechange even though the body of the user sways or moves while his handsremain in the bowl of the lavatory, and which will undergo anothersubstantially equal changesay a negative change in capacitance orreactance-upon the departure of the user. The positive change incapacitance or reactance will activate a solenoid valve or, if it hasalready been operated and the antenna has undergone a negative change,the negative change will interrupt its operation.

The antenna structure of the present invention is especially suitablefor and applicable to a lavatory which may be used at airports, publicrest rooms, kitchens, etc., or in any places where it is desired to havethe lavatory controlled by the approach and departure of the user. Theantenna structure embodies, in its basic form, an elongated metallicstructure as the essential capacity changing component, and thestructure includes a correspondingly elongated casing which may be madeof a material such as plastic. The combination preferably is small insize and hence readily concealed beneath the plumbing fixture to protectit against vandalism and theft. The antenna structure is essentiallymade up of a specially contoured metallic element, to be subsequentlydescribed, and its operating characteristics depend upon its shape andupon the adjacent ceramic, plastic or wood-top material of which thelavatory or its deck is made.

The antenna or sensing device of a so-called proximity control systemfor a plumbing system, such as a lavatory, is of importance because itserves to trigger the operation of the proximity equipment and initiatethe flow or stoppage of water. The antenna must be arranged to promptlybring on the flow of water upon the approach of the user and to maintainit operated even while the body of the user sways away from the lavatorywhile his hands remain within the lavatory basin. Thus, the antenna mustbe effective to maintain control of the solenoid even while the user iswashing has hand or hands. Furthermore, the antenna structure is equallyimportant in deactivating the flow of water into the bowl of thelavatory just as soon as the user has fully departed from the lavatory.Thus, the antenna must undergo a predetermined electrical reactivechange upon the arrival of the user so that the control circuitsconnected to the antenna structure will be operated properly andpromptly. Furthermore, it must supply the electrical property requiredto overcome those changes brought about by the shifting body movementswhile the hands of the user are positioned adjacent to or within thebowl of the lavatory and thereby maintain the continuity of the waterflow, Also, the antenna structure must undergo a substantially equal butopposite change in its reactive property upon the departure of the userfrom the lavatory so that the spigot of the lavatory will be turned offpromptly when this occurs. This requirement implies that the positivecapacitive change caused by the flow of the water should be smallcompared to the change caused by the presence of the user. The promptand correct starting and stopping of the water control mechanism notonly will satisfy the user, but also it will limit the wastage of water.

The most common variety of antenna structure suggested for proximitycontrolled plumbing fixtures consists of a simple vertical metallicplate which is located at the front of the fixture and is connected toappropriate control circuitry and to a controlled solenoid valve of thefixture. Such a simple vertical metallic plate member is sensitive onlyin a direction normal to the plane of the metallic plate member. Such avertical plate member, however, suffers from the difficulty that, as theuser advances far enough toward the antenna to turn the water on, thewater will be turned off just as soon as the user leans forward to washhis hands. This is due to the fact that the mid-section of the usernaturally sways away from the plate antenna while the users hands arebeing positioned within the bowl of the lavatory, thereby necessarilyreducing the capacitance of the antenna structure and deactivating themechanism. The stoppage of the water at this time not only isundesirable but it is baffling to the user. The mechanism turns thewater off just when it may be needed most, sometimes startling the user.Such erratic and defective action, introduced by the limitations of avertical plate member serving as an antenna arrangement, has constitutedan operating defect and has retarded the use and growth of proximitystructures for lavatories.

Another antenna structure suggested for proximity-controlled plumbingfixtures consists of a simple vertical metallic plate which is locatednear the spout or spigot. Such an antenna is sensitive to the positionof hands under the spout, in the normal washing position; however, suchan antenna suffers from the difficulty that the water itself is groundedvia the supply and drain pipes, and therefore the presence of watertends to create a positive change in capacitance that is sufficientlylarge to maintain the flow of water. In other words, the antenna turnsthe water on readily, but cannot turn it off nearly as readily.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide anantenna structure which will be substantially free of the difiicultiesabove mentioned. According to this invention, the antenna structure willbe shaped not alone to trigger the operation of the solenoid mechanismupon the adequate approach of the user, but also to maintain it in fulland continuous operation even as the body of the user sways or bendsduring any intervals when he is Washing his hands and also will berelatively free from capacitive effects due to the normal flow of water.The antenna structure will, therefore, embody a particularized shape,including a segment or member which will be effective essentially torespond to the approach of the body of the user and, moreover, othersegments or members to respond to the washing position of the hands andthe incidental movement of the mid-section of the user with respect tothe lavatory to maintain the solenoid valve continuously operated whilethe hands of the user remain in the locality of the bowl of thelavatory.

It should be pointed out that the mere enlargement of the priorsuggested single vertical plate antenna in front of the fixture, in aneffort to overcome the defects noted, will be insufficient to meet thenormal requirements of good operation under the conditions encountered.A large single plate will have increased sensitivity to the rear as wellas to the front, so that it will have too large a sensitivity to thepresence of water flowing. Even if a shield is interposed between theplate antenna and the water to minimize this effect, the resultingstructure will be large, and will be a tempting target for vandals.These undesired effects are overcome by a multisegment antenna structureof the kind which will be more fully described hereinafter in connectionwith the disclosure of this invention.

The multi-segment antenna structure of this invention will be relativelysmall in size and shaped so that it may be easily concealed from theview of vandals and thieves and yet its shape will provide the necessaryplural sensitivities to respond fully and properly to the varyingphysical conditions that occur in the normal and expected use oflavatories. By embodying the multi-segment ano tenna structure as acomponent of the lavatory by mounting it so that its physical locationwill be on the underside of the lavatory, the ceramic or other materialof the lavatory proper will form a part of the antenna system, and willincrease the change in capacitance created by the presence of the userin front of the lavatory. The antenna structure will be shaped so thatit effectively and continuously looks at the body of the user as heapproaches or arrives at the lavatory, and also continuously looks up tohis arm position or positions as the users body sways or bends away fromthe lavatory during the hand washing period, and so maintains a desiredcontinuity of the service.

This invention will be better understood from the more detaileddescription and explanation hereinafter following, when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 illustrates aperspective view of a proximity lavatory made of ceramic material towhich the invention may be applied; FIG. 2 represents a frontelevational view of the proximity lavatory; FIG. 3 illustrates a view ofthe underside of the lavatory per se to show the antenna housing as apart of the combination; FIG. 4 shows a portion of the lavatory and apartial cross-sectional view of the mechanism for mounting the antennastructure and afiixing it to the lavatory; FIG. 5

4 shows the metallic antenna element of this invention; FIG. 6 shows aplan view of the assembled antenna structure; FIG. 7 shows a frontelevational view thereof; FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view taken online VIIIVIII of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 illustrates a plan view of a modifiedform of antenna structure, partly cut away; and FIG. 10 is across-sectional view taken on line X-X of FIG. 9.

Throughout the drawing, the same reference characters will be employedto designate the same or similar parts.

The antenna construction embodied in this invention is arranged forphysical connection to the underside of a lavatory 20, as alreadysuggested and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing. The lavatory20 is preferably made of vitreous china and is preferably of thewall-hung type or of the countertop or drop-in type. That is, thelavatory preferably may be mounted on the wall in embodying thisinvention. The antenna structure 42 includes a specially shaped,elongated metallic member, as shown in FIG. 5 and the metallic antennamember 42 is encased in a housing 60, preferably made of plastic, thecombination being shown in FIG. 6, for example. The combination of theantenna member 42 and its casing 60 and additional structural componentsare together illustrated generally in the assembly shown, for example,in FIG. 6.

The metallic antenna structure 42 of this invention is essentially madeof a flat elongated piece of metal, such as steel, copper or aluminum, aclear perspective view of which is shown in FIG. 5. As will be apparentfrom FIG. 5, the flat piece of metal 42 is right-angular incross-section and is cut away at its center to provide a central segment44 and two winged segments 46 and 48 which are on the two opposite, orleft and right, sides of the central segment 44. The winged segments 46and 48 are intended to be positioned adjacent to the front centralportion of the lavatory 20 so that, in the normal use of the lavatory 20by the user who is standing in front of the lavatory 20, the body of theuser normally will be adjacent to the vertical sections 54 and 56 of thewinged segments 46 and 48 of the structure. As shown in FIG. 5, forexample, the central section 44 consists of a narrow vertical strip ofmetal which will be fairly close to the body of the user as heapproaches adjacent to the lavatory 20. Such a narrow strip of material44 is relatively insensitive by itself, but in conjunction with Wings 46and 48 the antenna will be sufficiently sensitive to develop therequired increase in capacitance when the body of the user is closelyadjacent to the lavatory 20 and thereby develops the necessary reactanceto initiate the operation of the mechanism.

The Winged segments 46 and 48 comprise two fiat horizontal metallicportions 50 and 52 and two vertical metallic portions 54 and 56,respectively. The horizontal portions 50 and 52 are located facingupward to the normal positions of the arms of the user when he isWashing his hands in the bowl of lavatory 20. Thus, the two horizontalportions 50 and 52 continuously look up at the arms of the user andintroduce an appreciable increased capacitance as the arms of the userare positioned within or adjacent to the bowl of the lavatory 20. Thiscapacitance is sufficient, as will be outlined hereinafter, to maintainthe faucet mechanism in full and proper operation even while the body ofthe user sways or bends from the front of the lavatory during thehand-washing interval.

The casing 60, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, is elongated and houses theelongated metallic member 42, and the casing is curved or shaped, notonly to conform to the contour of the front of the lavatory 20 as shownin FIGS. 1 and 3, but it also conforms to the similarly curved metallicmember 42. The casing 60 is preferably made of any suitable plasticmaterial, either transparent or nontransparent plastic material, and thethickness of Walls of the casing member 60 may be, for example, about4;" thick. The casing 60 also embodies two lateral plastic wingedsections 64 and 66, as shown. The plastic casing 60 may also include aplurality of studs, four of which are shown in FIG. 6 and are designated71, 72, 73 and 74. These studs are passed through correspondingapertures 50', 50", 52' and 52" in the metallic member 42 and areemployed to hold the metallic antenna member 42 permanently positionedand aflixed against the top horizontal side of the plastic casing 60. Aswill be further noted later, a minimum spacing is therefore providedbetween the upper horizontal surfaces of the metallic antenna member 42and the upper horizontal segments of the winged sections 64 and 66 ofcasing 60. This minimal spacing may be accomplished, for example, byhammering or flattening the heads of the several studs 71 and 74 so asto depress or flatten them out and thereby insure a permanent gripbetween the metallic member 42 and the casing 60.

It will also be observed from FIG. 6 that the casing 60 includes twosubstantially equal openings or slots 76 and 78 in the respective wingedsegments 64 and 66. These slots 76 and 78 are intended to receiveconventional toggle or expansion bolts 80 which are inserted into theopenings 76 and 78. One such bolt 80 is shown in FIG. 4 in its mountedposition. The toggle bolts are inserted into appropriate openings 81 onthe underside of the lavatory 20, which openings 81 would normallyreceive the legs of a lavatory if it were not wall mounted. These togglebolts 80 may be manually adjusted by the installer so as to hold theassembled antenna casing 60 permanently aflixed against the underside ofthe lavatory 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The plastic casing 60 alsoembodies an additional opening or slot 86, which may be located, forexample, on one side of the casing 60, for receiving appropriate tubing90 bearing and enclosing the usual Wiring extending between the metallicantenna member 42 and the electrical control equipment within a housing100 for automatically controlling the flow and stoppage of water, as maybe desired, via the faucet 120 of the lavatory 20. The electricalequipment of housing 100 may be connected through other electricalcircuitry, such as a transformer within a housing 102, to a conventionalpower outlet 104. The electrical equipment within housing 100 is 'wiredto a solenoid (not shown but preferably positioned on the underside oflavatory 20) which controls the faucet 120. Moreover, the tubing 90preferably embodies a tapered or enlarged head 92 which would beretained within' the slot 86 and would bar the removal of the tubing 90.

The casing 60 preferably will also include a small variable oradjustable capacitor 94 which, as shown in FIG. 6, serves to connect oneend of the metallic antenna member 42 to the ground conductor of thecable extending through the tubing "90. This capacitor 94 introduces adesired or predetermined capacitance into the control circuitry. Forexample, capacitor 94 may have a capacitance which would bring the totalcapacitance between the antenna structure 42 and ground (including theapplicable adjacent ceramic or other material) to a value which may beadjusted to about 60 pf.:L- 1.5 pf.

As already noted, the metallic antenna element 42 includes a narrowsegment 44 in the central region thereof as shown in FIG. 5. This narrowsegment 44 may extend horizontally over a distance of, say, six inches.This narrow segment 44 need not be a fiat plate member or segment;alternatively it may be any piece of conductive wire of anycross-sectional shape, whether round or square or whatever. This centralsegment 44 serves to substantially eliminate or diminish the reactiveeffect of the flow of water through the usual drain pipe 120 and alsothrough the overflow path 100 within the lavatory 20 to the drain pipe120 in its travel to and through the usually grounded drain pipe 120 andinto the sewer system. Thus, this small central segment 44 will renderthe change in electrostatic capacity of the antenna structure 42substantially insensitive to the flow of water through the drain pipe120 or through the overflow path 110 of the lavatory 20 to the drainpipe 120. This insensitivity to the presence of water in the lavatoryoccurs because the antenna is not closely coupled to the overflow. Ascan be seen in FIG. 1, the china surrounding the overflow represents arelatively short path of relatively large cross-sectional area betweenthe antenna and the Water near the drain. To prevent coupling via thispath, the central segment 44 of the antenna is deliberately made with asmall projected area. By comparison, the winged segments 46 and 48 arecoupled to the water through the china via relatively long paths ofrelatively small cross-sectional area. Therefore, the capacitance effectof water on the antenna is kept to an acceptably low value.

The extended or widened winged segments 46 and 4 8 of the antennastructure 42 provide a special and unique purpose in supplying necessarycapacitance for initiating the operation of the solenoid and itscontrolled faucet 120, or for maintaining the solenoid and the faucet inoperation if they had previously been initiated, when either or both ofthe hands of the user are in their usual or appropriate positions withinor near the bowl of the lavatory 20. The substantially vertical portions54 and 56 of the antenna structure 42 are capacitively sensitiveprimarily to the presence of the user as he approaches the lavatory. Thesubstantially horizontal portions 50 and 52 of the antenna structure 42,though positioned on the underside of the lavatory 20, provide addedcapacitance as the arms of the user reach toward or into the bowl of thelavatory 20. Thus, the winged sections 50 and 52 insure the operation ofthe faucet mechanism when either or both of the arms of the user arewithin the bowl area even though the body of the user may have swayedconsiderably away from the front of the lavatory 20. This compensatingfactor is an important feature of the present invention.

The unitary metallic antenna member 42 may be regarded as composed ofthree individual components, two separated components, 46 and 48, havingvertical areas 54 and 56 for sensing the presence of a body andhorizontal areas 50 and 52 for sensing the position of the areas of theuser as the arms are lowered into the lavatory bowl, and a centralsegment 44 which serves to decouple the antenna from the water and toconnect the end segments.

The metallic antenna structure 42 and the casing 60 are shown as arcuateand similarly shaped longitudinal components, but obviously they may belinear or of any other shape to conform to the shape of theunderstructure of the lavatory 20. The smallness of the principalcomponents, i.e., the metallic structure 42 and casing 60, render themespecially suitable for easy installation on the underside of anylavatory, the installation to be made either at the factory where thelavatory is manufactured or at the location where the lavatory isinstalled. The absence of large metallic structures, especially largeflat structures, is especially desirable for the avoidance of vandalismand thievery.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a modified arrangement in which the casing 60 iscomposed of a central portion, similar to that shown in FIG. 6, and twoseparate segments 64 and 66 which are arranged to be separatelyadjustable for different lavatories.

The apertures 76 and 78 within the casing 60 of FIG. 6 and the wingedsegments 64 and 66 of FIG. 9 are suitable to provide adjustability ofthe casing to accommodate the casing and its enclosures to lavatories ofdifferent widths.

While this invention has been shown and described in certain particulararrangements merely for illustration and explanation, it will be clearlyunderstood that this invention may be applied to many other and widelyvaried organizations all designed for carrying out the features andobjects of the present invention.

A modified form of unitary antenna structure is disclosed in ourcopending application, filed of even date and assigned to the assigneeof the present application.

What is claimed is:

1. An antenna structure for an electronically operated lavatory or otherplumbing fixture consisting of an elongated metallic element including anarrow vertical central segment and two winged segments electricallyconnected to, and positioned on opposite sides of, the central segmentand substantially horizontal, the three segments changing in capacitancein a substantial amount in response to the approach to, or departurefrom, the plumbing cfixture of different sections with respect to apersons body, not withstanding the swaying of said body.

2. An antenna structure according to claim 1, including an elongatedhousing of dielectric material enclosing the central segment and the twowinged segments of the antenna structure.

3. An antenna structure according to claim 2, in which the housing issubstantially rectangular in cross section and includes means foratfixing the horizontal segments of the metallic element to the adjacentside of the housing.

4. An elongated antenna structure for an electronically operatedplumbing fixture comprising a unitary structure having two substantiallyequal fiat metallic segments and a narrow metallic interconnectingsegment, the interconnecting segment having small cross-sectional areaand the two winged segments being partially vertically disposed andpartially horizontally disposed, whereby the three segments will undergocapacitive changes in substantial amount in response to the approach ofa personss body or his arms and opposite capacitive changes in responseto the departure of such persons body or arms, not withstanding smallchanges in the position of said body or arms.

5. An elongated antenna structure according to claim 4, including alsoan elongated housing which is substantially rectangular in cross sectionand made of plastic material and encasing the unitary structure, andmeans for fastening the housing to the underside of the plumbingfixture.

6. An antenna structure for an electronically operated plumbing fixturewhich is to be operated and released when a user approaches or departstherefrom, consisting of an elongated rectangular metallic plate memberwhich is cut away in the central region of said plate member so that theplate member consists essentially of a central segment having a smalldimension in a direction perpendicular to the length of the metallicmember, said metallic member being bent so that the two outer segmentsare partly vertical and partly horizontal.

7. An antenna structure according to claim 6, including an elongatedhousing having a rectangular cross section and made of non-conductivematerial, in which the elongated metallic member is enclosed, and meanswhereby said metallic member may be affixed to a wall of said housing,said housing being aflixable to the underside of said plumbing fixture.

8. :An antenna structure for an electronically operated lavatorycomprising a unitaiy longitudinal metallic plate member shaped so thatit includes two partly vertical and partly horizontal winged segmentsand an intermediate segment interconnecting the two winged segments, alongitudinal housing of non-metallic material having a rectangular crosssection and enclosing said unitary member, and means for affixing saidhousing to the underside of the lavatory, the two winged sections beingadjacent to the ends of the front of said lavatory.

9. An antenna structure according to claim 8, including also anadjustable capacitor which is located within said housing and isconnected to an end of one of the winged sections of the unitary member.

10. An antenna structure for an automatically operated lavatory forresponding capacitively to the mid-position of a user approaching thelavatory and for responding capacitively also to the arms of the user asthey are moved into the bowl of the lavatory, said antenna structurecomprising an elongated unitary metallic member including two outersegments interconnected by a slender central segment, each outer segmenthaving a substantially vertical area and a substantially horizontalarea, and arranged so that the antenna structure is adjacent to thefront section of the lavatory and so that the two outer segments arepositioned symmetrically about the central segment but adjacent to theouter sections of the front of the lavatory, whereby the two verticalareas of the outer segment will respond capacitively to the proximity ofthe mid-section of the user and the two horizontal areas of the outersegments will respond capacitively to the proximity of the arms of theuser within the bowl of the lavatory.

11. An antenna structure according to claim 10, including also anelongated housing within which said unitary metallic member is enclosedand including also means for affixing the housing to the underside ofthe lavatory.

12. An antenna structure according to claim 11, in which the housingalso encloses an adjustable capacitor connected to an end of one of theouter segments.

13. An automatically operated plumbing apparatus comprising a lavatorywhich has a spout, a solenoid valve mechanism to control the operationof said spout, and a bowl for receiving water emitted by said spout; anantenna structure for controlling the operation of said solenoid valvemechanism, said antenna structure having a unitary metallic elementwhich includes two outer plate segments having vertical and horizontalareas and an interconnecting narrow segment therebetween; and a plasticcasing enclosing said antenna structure, said plastic casing beingafiixed to the underside of said lavatory so that the two plate segmentsof the antenna structure are positioned near the respective ends of thefront of the lavatory and are symmetrically arranged with respect to theinterconnecting segment.

14. An automatically operated plumbing apparatus according to claim 13,in which the solenoid valve mechanism includes a solenoid valve andelectrical circuitry connected between the antenna structure and thesolenoid valve so that the solenoid valve will respond to the approachor departure of a user of the lavatory.

15. An automatically operated plumbing apparatus according to claim 14,including also an adjustable capacitor physically enclosed within thecasing and interconnecting the antenna structure to the electricalcircuitry.

16. An automatically operated plumbing apparatus according to claim 15,including clamping means for affixing the casing to the underside of thelavatory to maintain the plate segments horizontal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,858,546 11/1958 Takanos et al4-67 3,151,340 10/1964 Tashima 4-l66 3,314,081 4/1967 Atkins et al. 41003,333,160 7/1967 Gorski 317146 3,415,278 12/1968 Yamamoto et al. 4-166X3,434,164 3/1969 Forbes 4-100 3,462,769 8/1969 'Ichimori et al. 4-1003,482,268 12/1969 Tashima 4-100 3,505,692 4/1970 Forbes 4166 HENRY K.ARTIS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 4-100

